All four of the girls watched their parents from the disparate vantage points across the lawn, each alerted initially to their absence from the reception by that pull, a vestigial holdover from childhood, seeking the cognitive comfort that came from the knowing, the geolocation, the proximity of those who'd created you, those who would always feel beholden to you, no matter what; each of their four daughter paused what she was doing in order to watch them, the shining unfathomable orb of their parents, two people who emanated more love than it seemed like the universe would sanction.
-- Narrator (The Offspring)

Importance: This quote is the embodiment of the underlying theme of the work in its entirety. Marilyn and David have a deep and abiding love and enviable union. The Sorenson girls marvel at their parents as they try to live up to this archetype, each falling short. As the girls traverse adulthood, they...